Bulk food serving trays, often constructed of aluminum, plastic or steel, are commonly utilized to bring large quantities of food to a buffet or other service table. Most commonly, such trays are either placed directly upon a table, with or without tray covers, and thereafter utilized to distribute food to dishes, plates or saucers of guests/customers who which to consume same. In some instances, the trays are placed upon a tray service frame which hold the bottom of the tray above the top surface of a serving table so that. In certain instances, a heating device can be used to keep the contained food warm. Generally the serving trays, filled with different foods, are placed side by side upon a table. Therefore, the tables utilized and spaced demanded for putting such trays out for use must be sufficiently large to accommodate all of the trays. In some instances, multi-level tray frames have been utilized so as to enable more than one tray to be placed within a given area of a tables available surface. However, such trays often limit access to the foods contained in all but the uppermost trays, forcing one to attempt to reach between stacked trays to reach the desired food.
A multiple level tray service frame which included a degree of offset of the trays placed upon same might increase access to a portion of food contained in those trays below the uppermost container, but access to a portion of the food contained in trays with an overlying tray would still pose some access difficulty. One solution to enabling multiple trays to be placed overlying the same portion of a table top might be to provide an offset tray carrier frame that provided for fore/aft movement of each tray relative to overlying trays. However, such a configuration would pose the risk of toppling over the trays and frame due to excessive movement of the upper trays lateral to the base of the tray carrier frame.
It would be highly advantageous if a food tray service frame were disclosed capable of containing, in a stacked configuration, a plurality of bulk food serving trays. It would be still further advantageous if such a tray service frame provided lateral movement of bulk food serving trays so that fore/aft movement of all trays contained therein, above the base of the frame, could move in a manner so as to provide better access to food contained therein positioned under the level of the uppermost tray. It would be still further advantageous if such a tray serving frame included a means to control the fore/aft (lateral) movement of the trays so as to prevent and/or minimize the possibility of the frame, and bulk food trays mounted thereupon, from tipping over.